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ASHINGTON. 



BATAVIA, 

WILLIAM SEAVER & SON. 

1842. 



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BATAVIA: 
WILLIAM A. SEAVER, 

1840. 



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WASHINGTON. 

George Washington was born at Bridge's Creek, West- 
moreland county, Virginia, on the 22d of February, 1732. 
Before he was ten years of age, he was deprived of the 
guidance and example of an excellent Father ; but the 
judicious economy &"d prudent affection of his remaining 
parent provided for him instruction in the useful branches 
of knowledge. Above all, she trained him to a love of 
truth, and successfully cultivated that high moral sense 
which characterized his actions from his youth. 

At th^age of fifteen, Washington received the appoint- 
ment of midshipman in the British navy, but at the earnest 
desire of his Mother declined accepting it, and afterwards 
practiced the profession of a surveyor, At nineteen he 



% WASHINGTON. 

was appointed an adjutant general of militia ; and soon 
after executed with great coolness and fidelity a difficult 
enterprise entrusted to him by the Governor of Virginia, 
that of communicating with the commanding officer of the 
French garrison on the Ohio, and exploring the intermedi- 
ate country, with an eye to future military operations. In 
1754, he commanded a new regiment raised against the 
French — was in the hottest of the sanguinary battle of 
Fort due Quesne on the 9th of July, 1754 ; but at the close 
of the year he resigned his command. 

From the field of his early fame, he turned his attention 
to the peaceful pursuits of agriculture, and the enjoyment 
of domestic life. Having inherited from his frrother the 
Mount Vernon estate, he took possession of it , and married 
Mrs. Custie, of Virginia, widow of Col. Custis, a lady of 
large fortune, superior accomplishments and personal 
beauty. The ensuing fifteen years were passed on the 
banks of the Potomac, in improving his estate, — occa- 
sionally exercising the functions of a justice of the peace 
or of a representative iu the provincial legislature, until 



WASHINGTON. 9 

the general congress first assembled at Philadelphia, when 
having been elected a member, he took his seat, and was 
one of the most active in revolutionary measures. 

Soon after the battle of Lexington, Washington, at the 
suggestion of John Adams, was elected commander-in-chief 
of the armies of the United Colonies, accepted the office 
and repaired to Cambridge, then the head-quarters of the 
patriot army. From this period, through all the vicissi- 
tudes, difficulties and perils of the revolutionary struggle, 
the genius of Washington was the directing spirit of the 
contest. Patient and sagacious, he never rushed headlong 
into battle — he was sparing of human life — courageous at 
all times but humane — and never for a moment despairing 
of the glorious cause. 

After the surrender of Yorktown, and the close of the 
war, and the withdrawal of the troops of che army, he took 
leave of his brave comrades in arms, at New-York, and 
hastened to Annapolis, where Congress was then in ses- 
sion, and on the 23d of December at an audience appointed 
for the purpose, he returned his commissiou to the hands 



4 WASHINGTON, 

from which he had received it ; — thus displayiug the sub- 
lime spectacle of a triumphant warrior in the fulness of 
fame, divesting himself of power, and dedicating the 
laurels he had won upon the altar of his country. By 
skill, firmness, perseverance and industry ; and by a happy 
union of prudence and courage, and a correct judgment 
with a spirit of enterprise, he had given liberty, peace, and 
a name among nations to his country ; but by this last act 
of public virtue, he consummated his own glory, and 
*' changed mankind's idea of political greatness." Every 
age has had its hero, but as a perfect pattern of pure, dis- 
interested patriotism, Washington, as yet, remains without 
e parallel in the annals of the world. To call him great, 
would be to class him with the Alexanders, the Caesars, and 
the Frederiks of other nations, he is therefore more justly, 
appropriately and affectionately designated as " the Father 
of his Country." 

Washington, having retired to Mount Vernon, devo- 
ted his attention to the improvement of his plantation, with 
& resolution never again to appear in public life. U Tha 



WASHINGTON. b 

scene is at length closed/' said he, three days after his 
arrival there, " I feel myself cased of a load of public 
care, and hope to spend the remainder of my days in culti- 
vating the affections of good men, and the practice of the 
domestic virtues." 

But the country was not at rest-, and Washington had 
been too deeply interested in all that concerned it, to be 
allowed to withdraw his attention entirely from public af- 
fairs ; indeed, the embarrassments of the country gave 
him great anxiety. While the general government was 
dependent on 1he separate action of thirteen independant 
state sovereignties, it struggled with difficulties which 
could not be removed, and it was soon discovered that the 
whole fabric must fall to ruin, or a new system be adopted. 
On this subject there existed a diversity of opinion in the 
country, which rendered the result for a long time doubt- 
ful. Tumults, insurrections and commotions agitated all 
reflecting men. At length a convention was held at Phil- 
adelphia by the representatives of twelve states ; Wash* 
ington was unanimously chosen president, and after a ses» 



£ WASHINGTON. 

sion of nearly four months the present national constitution 
was formed, which being afterwards approved by the peo- 
ple of eleven states, became the supreme law. 

No sooner were the public in possession of this instru- 
ment, than their attention was directed to Washington as 
the only man to be placed at the head of the nation. His 
consent was hard to win ; but overcome by the entreaties 
of personal friends, and in obedience to the voice of the 
people, he once more gave himself to their service and was 
unanimously elected the first president of the U. States. 

On the 23d of April, 1739 Washington arrived at New- 
York, and on the SOth was inaugurated in the presence of 
an immense concourse of citizens who rent the air with? 
joyous acclamations. 

His administration of the new government commen ced : 
under the pressure of numerous embarrasments ; an empty 
treasury, millions of debt, domestic agitation and foreign 
intrigue. The president filled the department with able 
men, selected solely with a reference to justice and public 
good, and gave that cast to the administration of national 



WASHINGTON f 

affairs, which all his successors — however most of their 
may haye differed from him in abstract opinions — -have 
found it necessary to adopt and practice on great and im- 
portant occasions. 

When the French revolution began, it was hailed iix 
America as the dawn of liberty in Europe ; and as there 
were parts in the British treaty of peace which had not 
been promptly executed by that power, there existed a 
strong inclination to favor France. Washington decided 
on a neutral course, and the friends of the administration 
on this point, and the opposition, very generally became 
identified with the federal and anti-federal parties. The 
firmness and prudence of the president, aided by his weight 
of character, preserved the country from being precipitated 
into a war, but it was for a long time doubtful whether he 
would be able to withstand the tide of popular inclination, 

The time for a new election having arrived, Washington 
was again unanimously chosen president. 

We cannot enter upon the political history of this period, 
without stepping beyond the limits of our plan, and at last 



8 WASHINGTON, 

falling short of a satisfactory narrative. Of the sincerity 
of his opinions, the fact is sufficient that at the calling of 
his country, he surrendered his choice of life, and risked 
his popularity and influence, as in the revolution he had ris- 
ked his life and fortune, when all might be lost and person- 
ally, nothing gained ; of the wisdom of his measures, 
every succeeding year has borne ample testimony ; of the 
deep, unwavering love he bore his country, his whole life 
gave evidence. He sought to execute the trust reposed in 
him by the people, honestly ; to give a regular operation 
to.the political machine without violence and intrigue. No 
machiavelian policy, no state trickery was practiced ; his 
friends and his foes always knew where to find him/and 
foreign powers learned to rely as much on his integrity as 
his own constituents. He had no local partialities to gratify 
no local interests to subserve ; he thought and acted for 
the welfare of the whoie, as a nation, which was about to 
take its stand in the scale of empires, and on whose future 
character and destinies, his administration would have an 
enduring influence. 



WASHINGTON, 3 

When the second term of office was about to expire f 
Washington declined a re-election ; and, with an anxiety 
worthy of his character, and to render a lasting benefit to 
his country, he published a valedictory address, in which he 
warned, admonished, and advised, with the affectionate ear- 
nestness of a father and the sagacity of a sage, to guard 
against foreign intrigue, to avoid all interference with 
European politics, and the baneful violence of party spirit 
and sectional jealousy ; above all, he urged the importance 
of "cherishing a cordial, habitual, and immovable attach- 
ment to the Union," as the main pillar in the edifice of in- 
dependence, the support of tranquillity at home and peace 
abroad ; of safety, prosperity, and liberty. 

After witnessing the inauguration of Mr. Adsms as his 
successor in office, Washington hastened to seek at Mount 
Vernon that calm felicity, and happy retirement, which he 
had long fondly anticipated ; but the din of war soon broke 
in upon the tranquil shades of his retreat. The spirit of 
the veteran soldier was roused by the insults offered to his 
country by France, and laying aside all considerations of 



1* WASH1 N GTON. 

age or case, he accepted the chief command of the army 
of the United Stated on condition that lie should not be 
called into the field until his presence became indispensa- 
ble* : — that necessity never occurred,— before peace was 
restored, Washington was no more. 

On the night of the 13th of December, 1799, fa* was 
attacked by an inflamatory affection of the throat, and in 
twenty-four hours after, the first luminary of America was 
removed to a holier, brighter, and happier sphere, 

The shock of this event fefl upon t!ie country with the 
unexpected suddenness of an earthquake, &.1 business was 
suspended, all ages and clasecs were overwhelmed with 
sorrow, and in every part of the land was heard the notes 
of mourning and lamentation. 

Having thus sketched some of the chief events in the 
life of Washington, very little more seems tc he required ; 
the value, the importance, the results of that life are before 
the world. In the place of thirteen scattered, oppressed, 
and degraded colonies struggling in poverty, and united 
only by the resolution to be free— we have an empire, rich 



WASH1 N < I P x > 

:tu), ana independent ; to found which, I 
any oihcr indj contributed. 

In life, malice never tarnished hit honoi • ■ I I 
practice her craft ; "favored 

out exhibiting the weakn. U of b rnagnan 

mnua in death, the dark] - 1 not ol 

hie brightneps.'" " For hinu 1 11 '. /.< bad lived loi 
to life and to g i y for hid fello* 
could have been 11 havebeei r:al."f 

♦ Mara'ralL I kdeaM 



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